Beautiful Disaster
by RegalPixieDust
Summary: After a serious car accident, Regina Mills and David Nolan find themselves on a road to recovery. Can something beautiful come out of this disaster or will they both return to the lives that they are desperate to change? EVIL CHARMING. Talks of car accident and injury.
1. Chapter 1

**I caved and dove into Evil Charming. It was a long time coming to be honest. Huge thanks to Grace and Brittany for the beta. I own nothing... as much as I would love to have these beautiful people as my own.**

* * *

Regina wakes up to the pungent smell of hospital disinfectant. It invades her nostrils with a burning sensation as she inhales sharply. The room is silent apart from the rhythmic beeping of a heart monitor and the scratchy sound of her lungs inflating and deflating. She opens her eyes to a blurred image, and she squints in an attempt to sharpen the focus. Once things start to become clear - the pale blue walls and the dim orange sunlight from the window - she starts to feel the pain in her legs, the pulsing ache rattling against her skull and there's a persistent ringing in her ear, an annoying high pitched whine.

Wondering how she ended up here, she groans and attempts to push herself upright in the uncomfortable bed, but _nope..._ that's not happening. Her entire body sides with gravity and the agony throughout her body makes her grit her teeth violently. She collapses back to the sorry excuse for a mattress and looks at the foot of the bed.

She has a cast on her wrist; a clunky mass of clay weighing it down. She wriggles uncomfortably, assessing where she hurts and _shit_ , she hurts everywhere. She gives up with the assessment and closes her eyes as she sinks right back into the mould that her body has cast on the bed.

"Miss Mills." A strong voice sounds but she can't pinpoint where it's coming from. Her strength is limited and opening her eyes feels impossible after her attempt to sit up. "Try not to move too much."

"Wh…" she tries to speak, but it feels like razor blades in her throat. Instead, she coughs a little, small sputters at first that develop into painful roars of coughs.

"Drink this."

Her eyes open when she feels a hand on her shoulder. It's all a blur again, but she eagerly sucks on the offered straw and gulps harshly, feeling the cool relief slither down her throat. She tries to speak again, croaking an airy _thank you_.

The figure hovering over her comes into focus; sandy hair, a white coat and a face full of concern as he asks, "I'm Doctor Whale. Can you tell me your name?"

Processing the question is like trudging through mud. She knows the answer is there, it's right in front of her, but it takes her a moment. "Uh…" she groans from deep within her belly, finally answering, "Regina. Regina Mills."

"And your birthday?" He asks, leaning over the bed slightly and shining a bright light into her eyes.

Squinting at the bright intrusion, she mutters a swift, "February," and then the light clicks off.

"Good," he nods, walking his way to the end of her bed and picking up her chart. But he doesn't need to read it, it's as if he has it memorised. "How are you feeling?"

"Sore," she tells him, twisting her face in discomfort as small aches and pains around her body make themselves known, her wrist is throbbing as well as her leg and head still. "Confused…"

The last thing she remembers is filling up her gas tank. She got back in her car and gulped down the thick sludge that the gas station dared call coffee. She had been driving all day… she was tired... it was dark and raining.

Then she remembers the headlights that came out of nowhere, and how her heart lurched into her throat as she was smashed on her right, throwing her car out of control no matter how much she tried to keep steady.

"You were in an accident," Dr. Whale confirms. "It appears a drunk driver ran a light and rolled your car off the road into a ravine. You're very lucky to be alive."

It's coming in flashes, the small bits and pieces that she remembers. She was trapped, her legs pinned amongst crumpled metal. Her airbag had deployed and she was wet, water from the river filling up the inside of the car to her chest. She could hardly move.

"You have a fractured femur, a snapped fibula, a few broken ribs and wrist," he lists. "You sustained a head injury but scans don't show any worrisome problems in brain function, and your memory seems somewhat intact."

"How…" she shakes her head a little, trying to piece together the puzzle made up of all the flashes she's having. She recalls yelling for help, struggling to free herself as her car was sinking further and further into the cold river. "How did I get out?"

"A passerby noticed the wreck. He pulled you free."

She remembers.

—

 _She fought with her seatbelt, absolved in frustration as it refused to click free. She pressed at the button frantically, pulled at the fabric, until it finally loosened and she could reach down to free her leg._

 _She had to move carefully; every movement was potentially something that could shift the car off the awkward balance it had found and then she would be completely underwater. She was close to it anyway, the water almost reached her chin as she struggled to spring her leg free._

 _Then she heard him._

" _Hello?" A voice yelled over the battering of rain pummelling against the roof of the car and over the swishing of running water colliding against the body of the car."Are you okay?"_

" _Help!" She yelled back desperately; she needed to make sure she was heard. "I'm stuck, please help!"_

 _There was no response but she could hear the sound of someone sloshing through the water and then he appeared on her right, carefully prying the damaged passenger door open as he fought against the force of the flowing water._

 _She couldn't make out many of his features because of the darkness, but the little light there was accented the expression on his face. He looked shocked almost, lost as to what to do. "You're bleeding," he said, pointing at his own forehead to indicate where her injury was._

 _She caught a dull glimpse of her gushing head wound and bloodstained forehead in the cracked rear view mirror. She couldn't believe she hadn't noticed, hadn't felt any pain. She started to become more aware of her injuries - her wrist, her chest._

" _Can you crawl out this way?" He asked, waving over towards himself. "I can help you out and back up to the road."_

 _She tried to pull her leg free from its constraint again and growled, "I can't. My leg's stuck."_

" _Is it crushed?" He asked, climbing inside the car. It shifted the balance of the car, threatening to claim the entire vehicle until it rolled downstream. "Shit," he gritted through his teeth. "We need to free you quickly."_

 _It's safe to say she panicked. Her breathing quickened until it was frantic. She couldn't catch her breath all of a sudden, and she couldn't focus on anything he was saying._

 _She was looking at him as he was trying to say something, but her mind was too worried to focus on his words. He was mouthing something to her over and over, a desperate attempt to soothe her fright and calm her down, no doubt. After a few more mouthed phrases, his words started to become clearer when he reached over and gripped onto her forearm. He grounded her completely in the chaos._

" _I need you to stay with me, alright. You're going to be fine but I need you to work with me, okay?" She tried to steady her breathing and she nodded. "What's your name?" He asked, a routine form of distraction._

" _R...Reg..." she stuttered, whether it was due to the chill of the water or the fear trickling down her spine was anyone's guess. "Regina."_

" _Regina," he repeated as he reached his hand down into the water by her feet, feeling around her leg and assessing the problem. She shook violently, definitely due to the cold this time, as he continued to talk to her. "I'm David," he told her through a strained voice as he was forcing his arm as far as it could to try and loosen her free. "Here's what we need to do, Regina…"_

 _He pulled his arm free and reached for the side of her seat, feeling around until he mumbled a relieved, "got it," and suddenly the back of her chair sprung all the way back. "Your leg isn't pinned. I can reach right down to your foot, but I think we need a better angle so you can pull it straight out."_

 _She caught onto his plan quickly and shuffled back up the chair as he explained, "Now, when you're free I'm going to move fast to get us out of here."_

 _Just like he thought, her leg slipped out with ease given the better angle. "I'm out," she sighed heavily, relieved._

 _She didn't have a second to think before David latched onto her middle and mumbled a supportive, "'atta girl," before pulling her body free from the car through the passenger seat door._

 _She cried out in pain as an agonising surge radiated in her torso, a horrifying sting in her rib cage while he squeezed her tightly and dragged her out of the water._

—

"David," she recalls. "He helped me."

Dr. Whale nods, confirming, "David Nolan was driving by when he noticed the accident."

"I'll need to thank him," she sighs. He didn't need to stop, he could have easily called authorities and left it at that.

"I hope you get the chance," Dr. Whale shows hints of a frown but immediately tries to hide it. "Unlike you, he's yet to wake up."

"Wake up? He's… he's here?" Dr. Whale nods his head. It makes no sense. David pulled her out to safety, even checked her for any other bleeding wounds. He was fine. "But he wasn't hurt."

"He went back to your car," Dr. Whale explains. "The police aren't sure as to why, but it was swept downstream while he was inside."

 _Why would he go back?_ she wonders, wracking her brain for the answer and then she remembers the last question he asked her. "Oh god…"

—

 _He hovered over her when shock started to set in. Her entire body stiffened and she couldn't find the energy to answer any of the questions he was asking: "Are you okay? Where are you hurt?"_

 _He was checking her body for injuries when he asked, "You were alone, right? Regina, were you alone?"_

 _When she didn't answer him, he stood up quickly and sprinted back down to where he found her. That's when darkness took her._

—

"Do you know why he went back?" Dr. Whale asks.

"He kept asking me if I was alone," she mutters softly. "I couldn't answer, I was so…"

"You would have been in shock," Dr. Whale offers his explanation, but it still doesn't explain why David would go back with it being so dangerous.

 _The car seat._

"He thought I had a child with me," she murmurs wistfully, frowning deeply as she realises that her stupidity combined with this stranger's impeccable heart might have been what made him put himself in harm's way. And for what? Absolutely nothing.

"Why would he think that?"

"There was a car seat strapped in the back," she discloses tearfully, the months of false hope falling on her shoulders like bricks once again and now garnished with the added guilt of putting someone in a dangerous situation. "I was supposed to pick up my son last week but… but the adoption fell through." Now there is a man in the hospital because she couldn't let it go. "This is my fault."

"There is nothing you could have done to stop him from going back," Dr. Whale contends. "It's just who he is."

"You know him?"

"I've known him for many years. That tends to happen in a small town like this one."

"I'm sorry…"

"There's no need for apologies," he promises, looking over her chart quickly then glancing back at her. "You have no emergency contact listed. Is there anyone we can call for you? A family member?"

She outright laughs, a bitter thing. "No," she shakes her head desolately. She doesn't even understand the concept of family anymore. "There's no one." Dr. Whale seems taken aback at the acidity in her outburst, and feeling the need to explain somewhat, she reveals, "I don't need anyone. As long as I'm going to be okay?"

"I expect you to make a full recovery with time," he slips her chart back into its slot at the end of the bed. "I'll have a nurse come and redress your wounds and check your pain levels. I'll be around if you need anything."

Dr. Whale makes his way to the door when she stops him, "Wait," she says firmly, desperate to know, "Will he be okay?"

Dr. Whale's shoulders slump sadly, but perk back up almost instantly; years of practice as a professional will do that to you, she knows it all too well.

"I don't know."

* * *

 **What do ya think? Continue or no?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Another huge thank you to Britt! We were on a major Evil Charming buzz the last few days. Absolutely love writing this story and would love to here what you think! Enjoy!**

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Waking up the second time is nowhere near as unpleasant. She's still in pain, but at least she knows where she is and what happened. It's late though; the sun is gone, leaving only darkness outside her window.

She begins to ponder what might have woken her up at such an awkward time, but the face of a boy appears suddenly, startling her with a perky, "Hello."

"Uh…" she blinks madly at him, confused. It could be a dream, induced by the many pain medications pumping through her system, but she welcomes the visit, dream or not. "Hello."

He can't be any more than ten years old, and he's donning the same fashionable hospital gown that she is, so he must be a patient here as well. "What's your name?" he asks. He's pretty sprightly.

She chuckles at him a little. He's a ball of energy that she wasn't expecting. "My name's Regina," she introduces herself. "What's yours?"

"I'm Henry," he says proudly, wandering around her bed as he starts poking at the large cast on her leg. Once, twice, three times before reaching for her chart.

It's amusing to watch him attempt to read it, she can't help but grin at the serious face he pulls, but all amusement dissolves when he starts reading off her injuries perfectly, "Lots of broken bones... femur, wrist... _Ouch._ At least they're giving you morphine."

She's amazed. "How can you read that?"

Henry shrugs and brings her the chart, showing her that it actually isn't rocket science. "I'm ten. I know how to read," he states. "Plus, I pretty much live in the hospital, and I've read all the books in the library… this is all I have left to entertain myself with."

"Oh," she breathes softly, eagerly taking her chart from his hands and welcoming his small bounce to sit next to her on the twin mattress. "Are you supposed to be here?" she asks, raising an eyebrow cheekily over the large clipboard. "It's late."

He shrugs again and swings his legs back and forth a few times. "Dr Whale doesn't like when I walk around. He says I _pester_ the patients…"

Regina chuckles lightly at the young boy's strategic use of air quotes and mocking voice, "Well, I don't think you're a pest."

"Thanks," he grins. "How long are you trapped here?"

Sighing, she shakes her head unknowingly. The doctors weren't very specific about her recovery time. She tips her chart back toward Henry and says, "Your guess is as good as mine."

He laughs, a little airy thing, before hopping off the bed with her information in his hands. His lips twitch down into a frown as he slips the clipboard back, muttering, "You'll be out of here before me at least."

"When are you leaving?" she asks, curious to his change in demeanour. The perky smile and skip in his step have completely dissolved away.

"It doesn't matter," he shrugs solemnly. "I always end up coming right back."

"Oh."

Unsure what to say, she lets them succumb to silence for a short while before he coughs to clear his throat and makes his way to the dimly lit hallway of the hospital.

"I should probably go before the nurses realise I'm gone," he smiles unconvincingly, but he waves, "Goodnight, Regina."

He's out of sight when she whispers her own _goodnight_ before lying back against her pillow and losing herself to sleep again.

* * *

Regina likes her nurse, Ruby. She's excellent at her job but also knows how to unwind a bit; she's more than happy to be spouting off some embarrassing story about her Friday night while poking and prodding at Regina's injuries. It doesn't take away the pain, but at the very least, it makes the time go faster.

The most Regina has gathered so far is that the little town of Storybrooke that she's stumbled upon has a very tight knit community. Ruby knows a little bit about everybody and a _lot_ about certain people. And it would appear she knows David very well.

"He's that one guy who will always have a smile on his face," she notes happily, pulling back the dressing on Regina's head wound. She fails to conceal the hissed wincing through her teeth as a reaction, and Regina's eyes widen. "Oh, I'm just being dramatic," she brushes off. "But your head certainly had quite the collision with your window."

"I hear that can happen in car accidents," Regina smirks, running her nails up and down the hard cast on her wrist.

"Patient humour," Ruby smiles widely, "I like that." She continues to dress the wound carefully, and Regina stares out the large glass windows of her hospital, chuckling softly when Henry runs by, quickly followed by a doctor and a nurse or two chasing him. "If you are competing for most comedic patient, I hate to tell you that your biggest competitor just ran by."

"Henry?" Regina asks, darting her eyes upward to Ruby who is still carefully concentrating on the final touches of the bandaging.

"He's a brilliant kid." Ruby presses down the edges of the bandage and stands up straight. "And hilarious. Especially when he gets to Whale."

"What's his story?" Regina asks curiously, sharing a laugh with Ruby when Henry sprints by the window one more time, even throwing a wave in their direction this time.

Clearing away the packaging from Regina's side table, Ruby tells her, "Henry is the heart of this town, but he was dealt an awful hand by the universe."

"He snuck into my room last night," Regina confesses, confident that Ruby is hardly the type that would reprimand him for something so silly. "It was hard to believe he's sick."

"You see through his brave face after a while. Every so often you'll catch him without a smile or without that adorable skip in his step," Ruby frowns tightly. "He overcompensates a bit with his humour, I mean, ever since David was admitted, he's been quite the devil with the doctors. Luckily, we all know that's how he copes."

"He and David are close?"

"That would be an understatement."

Regina feels a sudden pang of guilt in her chest. Ruby goes on about David, listing off the number of people who care for him and a plethora of alluring qualities: his kindness, his selflessness, and how strong he is, both mentally and physically. He's a carpenter, apparently, and a reliable one from the sounds of it. He's essentially the town's big brother, and the more Ruby speaks, the more Regina feels responsible for taking away someone so important from this family.

Ruby's rambling seems to trail off, probably once she noticed how Regina is desperately trying to keep from letting a tear fall, and she huffs out a big breath, perching her hands on her shoulders. "How about we get you some fresh air? I can give you the grand tour of the hospital."

Nodding her head, she sniffs through her nose and clears the lump in her throat with a cough. "Sure." She shrugs, "It's not as if I have anything better to do."

Transferring into the wheelchair was a challenge. There were a number of close calls as Ruby tried to help her from the bed, but after a number of moans, groans, and the odd curse here and there, she planted her ass so firmly in that chair she might have to sleep in it.

Ruby walked her around the brightly lit hallways all the way to the small garden out back. It was oddly serene and calming. The sun was shining brightly and warming her skin gently as families wandered around with their loved ones.

This little adventure outside isn't doing very much to assuage her guilt. The man who very bravely and graciously saved her life is lying in a hospital bed just beyond the windows she keeps catching her reflection in.

"Can I see him?" she asks. Ruby is mid sentence of some eccentric story about a patient they'd had years ago, but somewhere in the middle Regina had stopped listening. She can tell when someone is trying to distract her, and, as usual, she's tuned it out and latched on to what she should have been avoiding in the first place: the blame she's placed on herself.

Ruby smiles sadly. "Of course you can."

She's wheeled inside and pushed right past her own room towards the Intensive Care Unit. Ruby had mentioned something about her not having a lot of time since she's not family, but Regina doesn't mind that. She's hoping that seeing him might make her feel a little better, or at the very least, if she sees him take a breath or hear the beeping of his heart monitor, she might stop feeling like she's responsible for taking him away from so many people.

Seeing him again is strange. Ruby sets Regina's chair right by the edge of his bed, and she looks him over, instantly feeling washed over by uneasiness. Instead of feeling any solace at hearing the rhythmic beating of his heart or the inhale and exhale of his lungs, she realises that he's trapped somewhere. All because of her.

"Can I have a minute with him?" Regina asks quietly, not once taking her eyes from his chest rising up and down, even as they start to glisten with unshed tears that are welling up quickly. "Please?" she breathes. Ruby silently exits the room, though not without the gentlest squeeze of Regina's shoulder.

As she looks at David's face, she slumps forward in her chair through every ache and pain in her body and reaches for his limp hand. He's warm, and his skin has a rough feel to it, not that she's surprised, he's a handyman after all. She gives him a squeeze, whispering a very sincere, "I'm sorry," before looking up to his face, wondering if maybe, just maybe, his eyes might just flutter open and all of this will be okay.

She lingers for a moment, just waiting, but she abandons any sliver of hope when he doesn't even so much as twitch. Instead, she memorises his face. She'd only had flashes of their encounter before and remembering the sound of his voice keeping her calm, but now she can really see him, chiselled chin and all.

He's extremely handsome. It'd be criminal not to note that right off the bat. He has a jawline that even she would kill for, and there's no way that those resting lips don't have the ability to leave someone breathless with a smile. The worst part of it all is that she can't remember what colour his eyes are; are they the kind of blue someone could get lost in, a mysterious green that would always keep them guessing, or a warm shade of brown that would make them melt?

"You must be Regina?"

The voice comes very softly from the doorway, and Regina pulls away from David immediately, completely caught off guard as she turns to catch a glimpse of the tall blonde who startled her.

"Yes," she says softly, immediately apologising. "I was just leaving."

"Nah," the blonde waves it off, taking the seat on the other side of David's bed. "I'm sure he'd love the company," she smiles. "I'm Emma. David's sister. I was happy to hear that you were awake."

Emma takes David's free hand, pressing a kiss to the top of it, and Regina slyly tries to pry her hand from his other one. It's hardly her place, or at least so she thought. Emma picks up on her bad attempt at being sneaky and chuckles softly. "He has that effect on people," she says, looking back to David. "Whale mentioned that guilt was practically falling from your eyes," Emma side eyes her a bit. "You have no reason to. Nothing could have stopped him from going back to your car. There's no blame."

She feels a bit of relief having Emma tell her that, but not enough to lift her spirits quite yet. "I'll feel much better once he wakes up."

"I think we all will," Emma sighs into his hand. "But in the meantime, we just need to keep our spirits high for him."

"Of course," Regina agrees. She starts to try and wheel back her chair with her good hand, struggling immensely. Emma is standing to help her immediately - compassion must radiate from the core of that family.

"You're welcome to stay," Emma assures her, but Regina shakes her head. She's done enough, and Regina even tells her that, but Emma deserts the chair, bringing it to a halt and kneels down right in front of Regina with the softest look, but with a very stern voice, she says, "Enough. You have enough healing to do on your own," she gestures to all of Regina's casts and bandages, "to be sitting on a mountain of guilt that you don't deserve to feel. The reality is, when David wakes up, you are probably going to be the first person he asks about. You are welcome here. There are no hard feelings." Regina is rendered speechless, her eyes welling up again, but, dammit, she doesn't want to cry in front of someone she barely knows. "Hey, do you like to read?"

Regina sighs into the smallest of smiles, nodding as she answers, "I do."

"Okay," Emma claps her hands together brightly before reaching to the bottom of David's bed and lifting back the comforter slightly. A book has been tucked in underneath, one she's never seen before - it's brown leather cover inscribed with golden words _Once Upon a Time._ "Read to him."

"What?"

Emma repeats her words plainly. "Read to him. It was his favourite growing up and Whale said that talking to him could be beneficial. You can be here more often than I can. And, who knows, maybe the stories in there will keep your mind off of all of the madness." Emma puts the book in Regina's lap and pushes her wheelchair right up next to David's bedside, a little closer than before. "I need to speak with Whale, anyway."

"Uh…" Regina follows Emma with her head as she leaves her alone once again with this large, heavy book on her legs. "Okay…" She opens the book to the first page. It's definitely a unique book, the parchment is rough and the text is beautiful, almost handwritten. But it all feels so silly, reading to him like this, so she closes it again firmly. "This is stupid," she whispers to herself as she slumps back in her chair.

David's breathing is still as it was before, a hauntingly consistent in and out. _Maybe it's not stupid_ , she thinks. If he's trapped anywhere because of her, the least she can do is read from his favourite childhood book, so she flips it open again, runs her smooth fingertips over the coarseness of the paper and begins.

"Once upon a time…"


	3. Chapter 3

**Huge shoutout to Brittany for killing me with reactions to this chapter - I'm still laughing. Chapter 3 of awesome Evil Charmingness. A certain someone wakes up this chapter...**

* * *

It's been a week since reading to David became a regular thing. They're almost finished with his childhood favourite, much to Henry's liking since he's been eyeing up the sturdy book and it's colourful illustrations for a couple of days now.

Emma's great - better than great - and with quite the sense of humour about her as well; it's a clumsy humour, little trips and bumps followed by colourful expletives that make Regina snort. Emma and Henry are two peas in a pod, they could be siblings with how they bounce off of each other, even sharing similar body language and the _exact_ same eye roll whenever Whale mutters something about the room being crowded under his breath.

"Finished yet?" Emma asks, walking into David's room with two very full brown paper bags - from _Granny's_ of course, the only place in town to order lunch, but Regina will take that over anymore alien looking, lime flavoured jello.

"Not yet," Regina exhales softly, closing the book and balancing it against her leg cast. "Henry made me promise not to get too far ahead without him." She nods towards the bag that's soaked a little on the bottom corner, asking, "Let me guess, another greasy mess of cheese and carbs?"

Emma chuckles, shaking her head. "I bring you lunch and you have the nerve to nitpick at my eating habits?" Regina laughs gently, shrugging away the accusation playfully when Emma sasses her back with a simple raise of an eyebrow. "Don't worry, I brought your rabbit food."

"You're a saint," Regina praises, happily taking the container and fork. It's nothing overly fancy, but Granny can make a mean club salad. She takes a bite and hums happily. "This is so good."

"I'll never understand it," Emma sniggers, tucking herself into the chair across the bed, taking a hearty bite from her soggy bread and cheese, and with her mouth full, mumbles a barely decipherable, "Grilled cheese soothes the soul."

"What's David's favourite?" Regina asks, nervous about maybe overstepping; she's so curious about the man who saved her life but hates the idea that she might press too hard with questions.

"Burgers," Emma nods firmly, barely a beat between the question and answer. "Though, he does love Granny's lasagna. Me? Well, I think it could be better."

"I make a great lasagna," Regina tells her, sighing into the plastic container on her lap. Cooking has become a bit of an escape for her - something to keep her hands busy when she wasn't slaving around at her mother's every wish, not that that's much of an issue anymore.

"You should make it for him when he wakes up," Emma says, nonchalantly muttering off that, "He'd probably fall in love with you." Regina chuckles, a soft thing at Emma's ridiculousness before they fall into a comfortable silence while enjoying their polar opposite lunches.

"You know, you haven't told me much about yourself," Emma says with her mouth half full, nearing the end of her sandwich. "Please tell me your favourite food isn't lettuce because my greasy heart couldn't take it."

Shrugging, Regina takes another small bite after an exhale. "There isn't much to know about me." She's lying. Right to her new friend's face, but it's much easier than rattling off the complex life she actually lives on a day to day basis.

"I doubt that's true," Emma begs to differ. "What do you do for a living?"

"Ah," Regina huffs a stressed breath out into the air, "that's a little complicated."

"Complicated isn't necessarily a bad thing."

"Well, in my case complicated means recently unemployed." Regina isn't sure if what she said came off too harshly, but Emma's eyes bug open while her face begins to drip with guilt, an _I'm sorry_ falling off her lips in seconds. "It's okay," Regina assures, waving any and all unnecessary guilt from the room. "Truly. I made a decision that I thought was best for me, so I suppose it's not all bad."

"That you _thought_ was best for you?" Emma presses curiously, but is startled and interrupted by the loud opening of the door. Henry has come to Regina's rescue, but if only his face was as bright as she's grown fond of. He looks distraught, almost close to tears. "What's wrong, kid?" Emma asks.

"Ask Whale," Henry grumbles, climbing onto the edge of David's bed carefully, huffing into slumped crossed legs.

Regina notices how Emma's face drops as she discards the remains of her sandwich into the brown paper bag on the floor. She leaves the room wordlessly with a squeeze to the shoulder of a very upset Henry sitting mere inches from Regina.

"Would you like to talk about it?" Regina asks him kindly, careful not to tip him over the edge where those glistening tears in his eyes are concerned. "Or we can continue reading and not talk about it?"

Henry curls his knees up against his chest, "My new treatment isn't working..."

"Oh, sweetheart," she frowns sadly, "I'm sorry." Regina rests her hands on the leather face of the book still perched on her thighs after shifting her barely touched salad onto the side table. "Dr Whale doesn't even have the guts to tell me."

"If he didn't tell you then how do you know it's not working?"

"Because nothing's different," he moans. "My charts are the same and it's been two weeks. I'm still sick."

"That's not a very long time. Maybe it's just being stubborn and waiting until the last second to work," she says hopefully. She rolls in her wheelchair so she can reach his ankle, giving it a light squeeze. "There's still time."

Henry drops his chin to his knees, making sure to keep his eye contact with her, pondering, "Are you not asking because you're being polite?" Regina tilts her head at his question, then he explains, "You haven't asked me what I have, and you haven't asked Emma because I checked."

Regina would be lying if she said she hasn't been curious, but something in her gut kept it at bay. "I suppose politeness is up there on my list of reasons. But I also think that your health is something very personal and that if you wanted me to know, you would tell me when you were ready."

"That's fair," Henry nods.

"Do you want to tell me?"

"Nah, not yet." Regina doesn't know if the pang in her chest is merited, but it dissolves immediately when he explains, "I like that you don't look at me with those pity eyes."

Regina chuckles, "Pity eyes?"

"You'll see," Henry smirks ever so slightly, and a warmth spreads through her chest - a smirk beats the pained frown that was painted there before.

And like clockwork, Emma wanders back inside, with those pity ridden eyes that Henry warned her about. "Sorry, kid," Emma offers, rubbing against his back while Henry rolls his eyes playfully for only Regina to see and mouths _told you_ in her direction. "You know, treatment doesn't always work right away. Your body needs time to let it work its magic."

Henry sits up again, "That's what Regina said."

Emma smacks her knees as she sits down again, "Well then, it's settled. Two amazing minds can't be wrong, can they?"

"I guess not," Henry grins hopefully, and then out of nowhere he jostles a little in front of them, as if something caught him by surprise. He doesn't say anything at first, but then it happens again.

"Whoa…" Henry comments, looking at the end of David's bed, startled, and back to the pair of them with his mouth agape. "He just kicked me."

"What?" Emma asks, standing up immediately to tower over David's face, running a comforting hand over his forehead.

Regina holds her breath, her heart ceasing a few beats, and just as Emma straightens up again, sighing defeatedly as if it would be all too good to be true, Regina catches a twitch in David's hand, his fingers clenching to a fist and then relaxing. "Look," Regina breathes, pointing at his hand, and it does it again.

"David?" Emma asks, "David, can you hear me?" He groans and the room erupts in a relieved sigh. "David?" She's asking him question after question, desperate for any answer, any sound. "He's opening his eyes…"

He croaks an inaudible sound, and he coughs quite violently, obviously parched, but Emma's coaxing him all the way.

"Is she okay?" David asks dryly, coughing again slightly. "Regina?"

Emma sobs a cry through a smile, smacking a loving kiss to his forehead. "See for yourself," she tells him giddily before running off to get Whale.

Regina fights through the healing aches in her body desperately, pushing off her chair with Henry's help until she's standing straight and looking down at her saviour. "Hi…" she says softly, staring down at him gratefully and he replies breathlessly with the same sentiment.

And finally after almost a week of waiting, her plaguing question has finally been answered; "They're blue." She smiles down at him, chuckling almost when his eyes narrow in confusion. "Your eyes. They're blue."


End file.
